Showing results for "The Prairie" in Small Town & Rural

Return to America’s most beloved fictional hometown! Lake Wobegon is having a boom year thanks to millennial entrepreneurship—AuntMildred’s.com Gourmet Meatloaf, for example, or Universal Fire, makers of artisanal firewood seasoned with sea salt. Meanwhile, the author flies in to give eulogies at the funerals of five classmates, including a couple whom he disliked, and he finds a wave of narcissism crashing on the rocks of Lutheran stoicism.

A mysterious virus has infiltrated the good people of Lake Wobegon, transmitted via unpasteurized cheese made by a Norwegian bachelor farmer, the effect of which is episodic loss of social inhibition. Mayor Alice, Father Wilmer, Pastor Liz, the Bunsens and Krebsbachs, formerly taciturn elders, burst into political rants, inappropriate confessions, and rhapsodic proclamations, while their teenagers watch in amazement. Meanwhile, a wealthy outsider is buying up farmland for a Keep America Truckin' motorway and amusement park.

When Mabel Ryerson opens her social media to find a friend request from her grandmother, the seamstress’s simple life screeches to a halt. Grandma Betty died two years ago. Mabel suspects the old account must have been hacked. Still, curious to a fault, the thirty-something wants to go home to investigate. But her fiancé forbids it. Relations are strained among Mabel’s family, and her groom-to-be thinks it’s better that she focus on her new life, away from Prairie Creek and its memories and secrets.

Life on the divide was a struggle for the pioneering Bergson family. Alexandra, both tough as nails and tender as a budding blossom, faces and conquers the harsh realities of early settlers in Nebraska. The struggle for life, love, and meaning permeate this timeless classic. Willa Cather captures the imagination with her vivid portrayals of the landscape and the enduring desire to achieve a dream.

My Ántonia relates the story of two young arrivals in Nebraska in the 1880s: Jim Burden and Ántonia Shimerda. Jim is an orphan, traveling to Nebraska to live with his grandparents, while Ántonia is emigrating to Nebraska with her Bohemian parents and siblings. The novel follows the pair as they become fast friends and experience life (and great challenges) on the Western prairie.

Erik Nilsen is ready to leave the last decade behind him. Ten years of touring with his rock band has made him wealthy and famous, but the experience has also taught him that money can't buy true riches. He's determined to take a year off to reunite with his family and old friends. The trouble is, the person from his past that he wants to be with the most is pushing him away. When he learns of her secret, he realizes how much he has to lose by staying silent. Can he convince Carly Strand to rekindle the love they once shared?

Growing up in early 20th-century Illinois, Ruby Drake is a happy child. But one winter's night, her beloved parents perish in an accident - and suddenly Ruby finds herself penniless and nearly alone in the world. Her new path eventually takes her to Harvester, where she is lucky enough to find work on the welcoming Schoonover farm. Kind Emma, forward-thinking Henry, and their hired men - ambitious Dennis and reserved Jake - soon become a second family to the orphaned teenager.